Toronto International Film Festival

The Festival of Festivals

The Toronto International Film Festival started in 1976 under the name Festival of Festivals, because it gathered the best films from other festivals around the world. It took its current name in 1994 and has grown into one of the largest publicly attended film festivals anywhere.

A city full of premieres

Every September downtown Toronto fills with screenings, red carpets and fans. Gala premieres take place in large venues such as Roy Thomson Hall, and the busy King Street West area becomes a festival street. Unlike Cannes, most screenings are open to the public, so ordinary moviegoers sit beside critics and buyers.

The People's Choice Award

TIFF does not have a traditional competition jury for its main prize. Instead, audiences vote, and the film with the most support wins the People's Choice Award. Because so many winners go on to Oscar success, including Slumdog Millionaire (2008) and 12 Years a Slave (2013), which both won Best Picture, studios watch the result closely.

TIFF Lightbox

In 2010 the festival opened TIFF Lightbox, a five-screen cultural centre on King Street West. It works as the festival's headquarters in September and as a year-round cinema showing classics, retrospectives and new independent and international films, with talks and education programs for young people.

Stars in Toronto

September in Toronto is when many stars launch their awards campaigns, often doing interviews and greeting fans along the barriers. Denzel Washington, Tom Hanks and many others have premiered films at TIFF. See our film festivals guide for dates and prizes across the year.

Visiting tips

Public ticket packages and single tickets go on sale in late summer, and rush lines offer last-minute seats to sold-out screenings. The free street festival on King Street West brings food stalls, music and activities for people without tickets. Arrive early for galas if you want to see stars on the red carpet, and expect big crowds on the first weekend.

Did you know? TIFF also runs a Platform program with a jury prize for bold films by directors, and TIFF Lightbox hosts film education programs for schools all year.

Toronto has become a favourite place for Hollywood to test films on real audiences, because the public reactions at its screenings give studios an early idea of how a film will play with ordinary moviegoers before awards season begins.

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